


Coffee Stains

by HereComesAComment



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Coffee Shops, First Meetings, I love these dorks so much, Keith (Voltron) is So Done, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Meet-Cute, Shiro (Voltron) is a Dork, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates, Takashi "Disaster Gay" Shirogane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HereComesAComment/pseuds/HereComesAComment
Summary: In hindsight, Keith probably shouldn't have challenged the universe.Now he was an hour late to his first class, soaking wet and looking like a very dirty, soggy cat.or,Keith is a Mess and Shiro is a Gay Mess





	Coffee Stains

**Author's Note:**

> My first contribution to the fandom! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
> 
> A really big "Thank You" to all my betas who gave me the confidence to post this!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! ❤
> 
>  
> 
> 26/12/2018 EDIT: chapter-1 went through some massive editing because wow, was I wordy. Everything's still the same, I just cut out some unnecessary parts. (And yes, I have at least two other chapters planned, if I can ever get off my procrastinating ass and write them. So this is going to stay "complete" for now.)

In hindsight, Keith probably shouldn't have challenged the universe.

 

Now he was an hour late to his first class, soaking wet and looked like a very dirty, soggy cat. And he hadn't even had coffee yet.

 

His day was going _fan-fucking-tastic, thank you for asking._

 

He woke up this morning to the sound of a crash from the kitchen. He jumped out of bed, his fight or flight instincts kicking in.

 

He had checked the time and realized, _fuck_ , his first class started ten minutes ago. He grabbed his knife (for protection purposes) from under the mattress and walked out of his room in search for the offender.

 

It was the cat. Of course.

 

Red had knocked over his coffee mug from the countertop, glaring at him. His kitty was hungry.

 

Keith glared back at the cat. "Couldn't you have woken me up in a less _expensive_ way?" he hissed at Red. Red hissed right back.

 

Now, Keith was never one to back down from a challenge. If he wasn't already late for class, he would have continued their little glaring contest until he _won_ . But it was professor Coran’s class and Keith somewhat enjoyed Professor Coran's classes. He decided to be the bigger person (the bigger _being_?) and let Red win this round.

 

He sighed, set the knife down on the countertop, and opened the cabinets in search for cat food. After serving His Highness, Keith unplugged his phone and shot a quick message to Romelle.

 

 **To:** **Voice of reason**

_Keith: I'm running late. Could you take notes for me?_

 

After hitting the send button, he noticed his phone hadn’t charged overnight. It was going to die any minute now.

 

His day was off to a terrific start.

 

Before long, he felt his phone vibrate in his hand.

 

 **From:** **Voice of reason**

_Too excited to sleep last night? Don't worry, I'm sure Professor Coran would understand  ;)_

 

Keith huffed in indignation and didn't bother replying. She was right, after all. Today was the day he was going to meet his soulmate.

 

Thinking of his soulmate, he wondered what kind of bond they would have. Soulmate bonds were usually romantic, but they could be platonic as well. Honestly, Keith would be happy no matter what type of bond he might have with his soulmate.

 

His heart stuttered in his chest.

 

The thought of being able to meet his soulmate in less than twenty-four hours had kept him up last night. Thinking of their meeting made him restless with anxiety to the point where he wanted throw up, just to get these feelings out of his system.

So he decided not to look at the timer on his wrist today. Even going as far as to covering it with a wristband so that it wouldn’t be visible to him. (Allura had replied with an eye roll emoji and a "go to sleep already" when he’d panic-messaged her at three AM last night.)

 

Keith continued the rest of his morning routine as usual. The only difference being that he actually put in an effort to look nice today.  

 

Now, he wasn't really the type to plan out his outfits. Normally, he'd just put his hand in the closet and wear whatever comes in contact with it first. But Keith would be lying if he said that today wasn't a special occasion. He had spent more time than he is willing to admit on deciding on an outfit for meeting his soulmate. He had even dragged Allura into trying to help him choose.

 

In the end, he had decided on a pair of shorts with leggings and a black full-sleeved, off-shoulder sweater. He contemplated wearing his jacket but decided against it. Keith tied his hair back in a ponytail (remembering Romelle’s enthusiastic suggestion), to complete his look.

 

As he looked himself over in the mirror, he could say he was pleased with  his choice of clothing. He looked okay,, if he was being honest. Keith hoped his soulmate would think so too.

 

So he wants to look nice for when he finally meets his soulmate, sue him.

 

After checking himself in the mirror one last time, he grabbed his essentials, scratched Red behind the ear, and left the apartment. Double checking that he locked the door, Keith bolted down the stairs.

 

He frowned as he remembered he had to take the bus today since his bike was being repaired. Scowling, Keith adjusted his messenger bag and started dragging his feet to the bus stop. He was _not_ a fan of public transportation.

 

Keith had already accepted that he was not going to make it to Professor Coran's lecture. Might as well enjoy the brief walk.

 

What he definitely did not expect -though with the way his luck had been going, he should’ve at least _considered_ it- was for it to start raining. He rummaged around in his bag searching for his umbrella and cursed when he remembered he’d given it to Allura the day before. Must be today’s _luck_ indeed.

 

He used his bag as a makeshift umbrella and ran for the bus stop. It was still a long way, and by the time he reached the bus stop and boarded the bus, he was completely drenched.

 

He cringed at the gross squelching noise every time he took a step, and his clothes were sticking uncomfortably tight to his skin.

 

He slumped down in one of the seatsand assessed the damage. His bag was completely drenched, and the rain had managed to soak into his notebooks as well.

 

He ran his fingers through his plastered hair to sweep the bangs off his face and let out a frustrated sigh. Even that minimal movement made him feel uncomfortable with how the clothes were sticking to him.

 

He had half a mind to step off the bus and go back to the comfort and safety of his bed right now, but he’d promised Romelle and Allura he’d hang out with them today. And they'd both have his head if he didn’t show up. Didn’t make his whole situation any better, though.

 

He practically jumped out of his skin when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It was Allura.

 

 **From:** **Alien Queen**

_Keith, are you on your way? Your umbrella is still with me, are you okay?_

 

Keith replied with _'Yes, and No. Heads up, my phone’s dying'_ and placed his phone back in his pocket.

 

It was an hour long ride to his college. So Keith sank down in his seat, trying to relax. Before he knew it, he was dozing off to the steady motion and quietness of the bus.

  


 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


 

He was rudely awoken by the middle aged man sitting next to him, screaming on the phone. A quick scan of the bus told him that most of the seats were empty. So he didn't understand why this person decided to sit _right next to_ him when _half the bus_ was _empty._

 

_Can this day get any worse?_

 

(The answer was yes. The answer to that question is _always_ yes. He regrets asking that question. Why does he always make things unnecessarily difficult for himself?)

 

Keith felt his annoyance building up. He regretted waking up this morning. He should have just stayed in bed and let his soulmate find him. (by the power of love and friendship).

 

Typically, Keith didn't have any problems with loud, obnoxious people (He can tolerate hanging out with _Lance_ , for Christ's sake) but it was too early in the morning to deal with people and function like a human being. He stood up, fully intent on changing his seat, when suddenly, with a motion that had Keith hitting his forehead against the front seat and falling to the filthy mud-covered floor, the bus stopped.

 

The few people still on the bus murmured as the driver got off to check what had happened. Keith cursed under his breath, standing up and trying to wipe the mud off his clothes.

 

 _So much for looking nice_.

 

After another moment of frantically scrubbing his hands over his thighs and hips, he gave up with a long suffering sigh and sat back down again (this time, far away from the loud, angry person). Now he looked like a wet _and_ dirty cat. He hoped his soulmate was into the dirty hobo look.

 

When the driver came back again, he apologized and informed them that the bus had a flat tire. He said it would take some time to get the bus up and running again.

 

Keith’s shoulders slumped, and he fought the urge to bang his head against the side of the bus. He was already missing one lecture, he couldn't afford to miss the rest. So he paid the fare and got off the bus.

 

Adjusting his bag, he took a deep breath and made the run of his life.

 

It was still raining heavily, but at this point, Keith didn't even care that he was getting drenched all over again. Sure, maybe running in the rain wasn't the most brilliant idea he ever had but he didn't want to spend any more time in a confined space with other _people_ any longer.

 

He searched for a place to take shelter in. When he spotted a coffee shop a bit ways down the road, he wanted to cry in relief. Dry place _and_ coffee? Was this what heaven looked like?

 

The cool air of the AC hit his wet, shivering body upon entering. The delicious aroma of fresh coffee hung in the air. Keith found himself relaxing from the smell alone.

 

As he made his way over to the counter, he felt his stomach growling and remembered that he forgot to eat breakfast. He ordered a sandwich and a frappuccino, searching for an empty table while the barista made his coffee.

 

He spotted an empty booth at the corner.

 

_Perfect._

 

Sitting down, he removed his bag from his shoulder, emptying its contents and spreading them on the table to dry. He scowled as he felt his hair and clothes still aggressively sticking to his skin. His hair and clothes were completely ruined. He didn't need a mirror to know that he looked a complete and utter mess right now. The pitying look the waitress gave him as she served him his order was more than enough confirmation.

 

He took out his phone and checked the time. His next class didn't start for another hour, and his campus was about twenty minutes from here. He had enough time to relax and properly enjoy his breakfast and coffee. Plus, he wasn’t really eager to get wet again. Still, he set up an alarm to ring when it’s time to leave, just in case he needed the reminder.

 

Keith took a sip of his coffee and decided to ignore the world and all of his problems and just focus on how amazing it tasted. He was definitely bringing his friends here next time.

 

As he put down his body, a sneeze ripped out of his body. Damn, he was gonna catch a cold. He had been drenched from head to toe by the rain not once, but twice, and now he was sitting in an air conditioned cafe, sipping a cold drink. Taking his horrible luck into account, he wouldn't be surprised if he _did_ end up with a cold by the end of the day.

 

Keith groaned as another wave of sneeze hit. He couldn’t afford to catch a cold. He had things to do, places to be, fuck- a soulmate to meet!

 

When a sudden sneeze made him knock over his remaining drink, he cursed, trying to keep it from spreading and damaging his notes any further. A deep, warm voice spoke, "Are you okay? Please, take this." A broad hand extended towards him, holding a napkin.

 

Keith snorted. He was completely soaked to the bones and this guy was offering him a napkin.

 

Cute. Very thoughtful of Mr. Stranger, but utterly unhelpful.

 

"Look buddy, I'm gonna need more than a tiny napki-" Keith's voice died in his throat, sentence left unfinished, as he locked eyes with the most gorgeous man on the planet.

 

Dark grey eyes were staring at him with concern, and Keith found himself unable to look away from them.

 

Keith heard a small beeping noise before he felt his timer shift under the wristband.

 

It took a moment for Keith's brain to process what had happened. Only when he heard the attractive man in front of him inhale sharply, did his brain start working again.

 

Keith jolted out of his seat and hurriedly tore off the band covering his wrist. His timer fell off with a _click!_

 

Oh.

 

The timer had come off. And it read **00:00:00:00**.

 

_Oh._

 

He didn't know how long he was staring at his wrist til his soulmate let out a quiet, “Oh.”

 

Coming out of his state of shock, Keith snapped his head towards him. His soulmate was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man (Keith’s eyes lingered longer than necessary on his chest) with black hair shaved into an undercut with short white bangs centered on his forehead. He was probably a few years older than Keith (Keith was a freshman so, a senior, maybe?). He was dressed to impress in a white long sleeved turtleneck sweater with dark grey pants.

 

Keith’s eyes raked up and down his magnificent body more times than it was appropriate and felt appreciative of his fate for once because _damn, his soulmate looks like an eight course meal._

 

“Um, h-hello?” His soulmate tentatively called out again.

 

He had imagined this exhilarating moment, when he would finally his soulmate, more times than he could possibly count. He had imagined walking up to them, grinning and shaking their hand. He even had his introduction carefully planned and rehearsed. But when he opened his mouth, what came out was, “Uhh?”

 

His soulmate let out an amused chuckle and Keith snapped his mouth shut, flushing in embarrassment. “Sorry,” his soulmate apologized, shoulders shaking from politely trying to hold in his laughter.

 

He extended his hand for a handshake ( _those biceps, though_ -). "I'm Takashi Shirogane. But people call me Shiro." His voice was pleasant, rich and clear; intoxicating ( _like coffee_ , Keith mused in the back of his mind). He had a friendly smile on his lips, his gentle eyes radiated warmth.

 

Keith wanted to be angry with his soulmate ( _Shiro_ , his brain provided) but _God,_ that voice had him weak in the knees and blushing like a kid around their first crush. Keith swallowed, trying to get his vocal chords to work again.

 

When he was took too long to respond, Shiro nervously asked, “So? Do I get the honour of knowing your name, Legs?”

 

Keith’s last two brain cells stopped functioning.

 

Did he hear that correctly? Did his soulmate just call him _“Legs”_?

 

Judging by the mortified expression on Shiro’s face, he guessed yes. He watched, amused, as Shiro started panicking. “Shit, I didn’t mean to say that. I mean, you do have nice legs. You have some _incredibly_ nice legs. They’re really distracting, by the way. Almost as distracting as your pretty face but _that’s not the point_. Oh my God, I am so sorry, but you staring at me like that isn’t really helping-”

 

Keith burst out laughing at Shiro’s flustered rambling and Shiro groaned in embarrassment, a pretty blush decorating his cheeks.

 

Keith bit his bottom lip in an effort to stop laughing. “I’m sorry. You were saying?” he asked, taking pity on the guy.

 

Shiro stared at Keith’s mouth, blush darkening. “Uh, y-you have some cream o-on your upper lip” He pointed at his own face for emphasis, stumbling over his words.

 

Keith instinctively licked his lips and tasted whipped cream. Has he been talking to Shiro with that there the whole time? _Embarrassing._

 

Shiro’s eyes trailed after his tongue, eyes darkening. When Keith gave him a questioning look, he stuttered out a, “Mouth what do?” Realizing what he said, he groaned and covered his face with his hands.

 

It was Keith’s turn to be embarrassed now. He was sure that he looked like a mess right now, but his soulmate still found him attractive. He felt his chest tighten with unfamiliar fondness. “How about buying me a cup of coffee first before finding out the answer to that?” Keith asked, shyly meeting Shiro’s eyes.

 

Shiro sputtered out a ‘Yes’ and tripped over his own legs on his way over to the counter before coming back and sheepishly asking him what he wants to drink.

 

_Dork._

 

When Shiro went to place their orders, Keith found himself having a miniature heart attack.

 

 _Oh my God_ , he just met his soulmate and Mr. Soulmate looked like a delicious beefcake and _those pecs_. And despite how confidently he carries himself, his soulmate seems to be a huge, stuttering _dork_. Keith never understood how people could consider full-grown adults ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’, but his soulmate was exactly that. He was an absolutely adorable six foot giant with that _voice_ and that _body_.

 

The waitress gave him an odd look as she passed by, but he could care less about how flustered he must look when his soulmate was one _Takashi Shirogane_.

 

Before long, Shiro came back with two cups in hand. When their eyes met, he smiled and quickened his pace.

  


In his excitement to reach Keith faster, Shiro tripped over his feet. He reached out with one hand to balance himself and stop falling. Which meant he had to let go of one of the coffee cups.

 

And he did.

 

On Keith.

 

_And that, kids, is how I met your father._

 

Keith was now wet all over again but he had officially run out of fucks to give.

 

He felt the ice cold coffee seep into his clothes. The cold causing goosebumps to break out on his skin and he sneezed. He was definitely going to catch a cold.

 

Shiro looked like he was in a worse condition than Keith. His arms were hanging in the air, outstretched towards him, frozen, with a horrified look on his face.Keith guessed that he felt guilty about it, so he reached out towards Shiro’s extended hand and entwined their fingers together. His hand was pleasantly warm. “I could really use that napkin right now, Shiro.” Keith said, to let him know that it was okay.

 

Shiro came out of his stupor and hurriedly took out the napkin from his pocket and handed it to Keith, apologizing the whole time. Keith took the offered napkin with a smile and gently pulled him to sit down. Seemingly aware of their interlaced fingers. Shiro flushed and sat down opposite to Keith, squeezing his hand with a shy grin.

 

_So cute._

 

Keith used the napkin to clean himself, more to ease Shiro’s mind than necessity and Shiro took off his jacket and offered it to Keith.

 

Keith immediately shook his head and gently pushed Shiro’s hands away. “No, it’s fine. You don’t have to.”

 

The look that Shiro gives him says he’s not going to take no for an answer. “I insist. You’ve been sneezing for a while now. I don’t want you to catch a cold. Should I tell them to increase the temperature?”

 

“No!” Keith objected. “I’ll be fine. You don’t need to do that for me.” Shiro’s concerned look didn’t go away and he silently offered his jacket to Keith again.

 

 _Fuck,_ Keith couldn’t say no to that look, so he reluctantly took jacket and wore it.

 

The jacket was a little too big on his body, the sleeves even completely covered his hands. God, Shiro was _huge_ . And so very, _very_ warm. Keith tried to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks by hiding his face in the jacket.

 

_He even smelt nice._

 

Realizing what he was doing, Keith straightened up in his seat. He started pulling on the sleeves of Shiro’s jacket, too embarrassed to look at him.

 

Being the awkward social hermit that he is, Keith was grateful when Shiro initiated a conversation. “Hey, stranger. Come here often?” He asked with that darned smile that made Keith’s heart beat just a little bit faster.

 

_Too cute, too cute, too cute._

 

Future husband was too cute for his weak heart to handle. He huffed out a laugh and answered, “No. First time, actually.”

 

“Oh? What made you decide to come here today?” Shiro asked in return.

 

Keith chewed on his bottom lip, willing his brain to form words in the presence of this beautiful being. But before he could answer, his phone started vibrating and ringing in his pocket. Keith fumbled, trying to take out his phone. When he saw why it was ringing, his mood dropped harder than Lance’s grades.

 

It was the alarm he set up earlier. It was time for him to leave. He helplessly looked at Shiro. He’d only just met his soulmate, he didn’t want to leave already.

 

He must have looked as upset as he felt, because Shiro frowned and reached for his hand. His touch was very comforting. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Shiro’s voice was soft, concerned.

 

Keith sighed. “My next class starts in a few minutes. I-I have to leave now if I want to make it in time.” He said, the words feeling heavy and on his tongue.

 

“Oh,” was Shiro’s only answer, but his voice was laced with so much sadness, it made Keith’s heart squeeze painfully in his chest.

 

Keith brought their interlaced fingers towards him and kissed Shiro’s knuckles as an apology. He squeezed once, before letting go and gathering his stuff. After double checking to see if he packed everything, he glanced at Shiro.

 

Shiro had been oddly quiet, and it was making Keith nervous. “Shiro?” Keith tentatively called out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

Shiro slowly shifted his head and stared at Keith. Keith fidgeted under his gaze. He had no idea what was going through Shiro’s head right now. Was he angry at Keith for ditching him on their first meeting?

 

“Shiro?” Keith tried once more.

 

This time Shiro responded, getting up. “Yeah, okay. I’ll walk you out. I have to leave, too. I’m supposed to meet Matt soon. Matt’s my best friend, by the way. He’s really great. He’s gonna love you.”

 

Shiro easily fell into step beside him, both of them making their way out of the cafe. He doesn’t exactly remember who reached out first, but their hands found each other and intertwined together.

 

“Will he really?” Keith felt sense of validation at Shiro mentioning that his best friend, someone he would consider close to him, would approve of Keith.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” It stopped raining, but the skies were still cloudy. Keith felt Shiro squeeze his hand just a little bit tighter and turned to look at him. Breath hitching when he found Shiro already looking at him.

 

And really, Keith should be letting go of his hands and get going. He didn’t want to miss another class. But he couldn’t find it in himself to let go of Shiro.

 

Only when he remembered that he had no way to contact Shiro, he let go of his hand and started fumbling with Shiro’s jacket, trying to take out his phone. He handed it to Shiro.

 

“So, uhh,” Keith’s voice trembled in nervousness, throat closing up. For fuck’s sake, this was his _soulmate_ ; the person he was _meant_ be with; the person _meant_ for him. Why in the world was he getting nervous asking for his number?

 

Keith cleared his throat and tried again. “If… If you could give me y-your number, I-I could maybe contact you later?” He still tripped over his words, but at least he got them out this time.

 

Keith handed his phone over to Shiro. His whole body tensing in anticipation.

 

“Y-Yeah! Of course.” Shiro’s eyes lit up and he all but snatched the phone from his hand. Watching him excitedly punch his number in Keith’s phone made Keith smile. Now he felt a little ridiculous for being so nervous about exchanging numbers.

 

All of a sudden, Shiro stopped typing and offered Keith a thin smile. He raised the phone and faced it towards Keith so that he sees the black screen-

 

His phone was out of charge.

 

_FuckiNG HELL-_

 

Keith flung his hands up in the air in defeat. He was done. He was _so done._ Whatever higher deity decided to make his day miserable should be proud of themselves, because Keith gives up on being a functional member of the society.

 

He wanted to go back to his apartment and sleep already. _This was the worst day ev-_

 

Keith stopped his distressed rambling when he heard a muffled laughter behind him. Only slightly mortified, he realized he said everything out loud.

 

Shiro had a hand covering his mouth, the other one hugging his shaking body. He stared at Keith with such tenderness and affection in his eyes, Keith couldn’t stare at him for too long without feeling like he’ll combust.

 

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the worst day ever.

 

“Surely it couldn’t have been that bad,” Shiro teased. “You still have the rest of the day ahead of you.”

 

Keith pouted and snatched his phone away from Shiro and faced away from him in mock offense. Shiro raised his hands up in a placating way.

 

“Here,” Shiro said, handing over his own phone to Keith. “Give me you number, please?” He asked with that goofy grin on his lips and seeing it made Keith’s own lips twitch upwards.

 

He really wanted to kiss Shiro.

 

Keith plucked Shiro’s phone from his hand and quickly dialled in his number. Realizing he never told Shiro his name, he wanted to tease him a bit. He saved his number under the name “Mr. Leggy”.

 

He handed Shiro’s phone back to him, “Here, take your jacket back.” Keith said, taking off the jacket.

 

Shiro instantly objected. “Keep it. You need it more than I do.” When Keith tried to object, he said, “Besides, you can give it back to me when you let me take you out on a date, yeah?”

 

Keith felt himself flush. “Yeah.” He put the jacket back on. Shiro beamed at him and he felt that warm feeling in his stomach again.

 

“So, uh,” Keith wet his lips, trying to form words. “I’ll see you later?”

 

“Yeah,” Shiro rasped out. “I’ll see you later.”

 

Keith tried for the biggest smile he could manage. He inched closer to Shiro, placing his hands on his broad chest. Standing on his tiptoes, he placed a kiss on his jaw.

 

Walking backwards, he parted with a, “Don’t take too long to call me now!” And the way Shiro  blushed was a pleasant sight.

 

Keith turned and increased his pace. He knew he was going to be grilled for information by Allura and Romelle when he sees them, but he couldn’t seem to find it in himself to care. He was in an infinitely better mood than he was just an hour ago.

 

He grinned as he thought of Shiro. He couldn’t wait to tell them about the hot beefcake that spilled coffee on him.

  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native English speaker, so I struggle with the language a lot and I'm not too confident in my skills. So, if there are any spelling errors, grammatical error, unclear parts etc, I apologize ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and comments and kudos are always appreciated! (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡


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